Brazil enlists army, cabinet in campaign against Zika

BRASILIA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Brazil's government launched a
nationwide campaign on Saturday to fight the Zika virus, with
President Dilma Rousseff and cabinet ministers personally
visiting homes and handing out leaflets along with 220,000
troops.

Under a scorching sun in the neighborhood of Zepellin in the
outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, which will host the Olympic Games
in August, Rousseff said everyone needed to take part in the
battle against the mosquito carrying Zika, suspected of causing
the birth defect microcephaly.

There are currently no vaccines or treatment for the virus,
though research institutes and pharmaceutical companies are
working on several possibilities.

"Brazil and the world have lost the battle against dengue,
but we won the war against yellow fever, which is carried by the
same mosquito. We will win the war against Zika," Rousseff said
as she launched the campaign, which also targets other
mosquito-borne diseases.

Twenty-seven cabinet ministers including central bank chief
Alexandre Tombini participated in the operation aimed at
visiting three million homes across 356 towns and cities on
Saturday.

Soldiers in Sao Paulo handed out fliers with the slogan "A
mosquito isn't stronger than a whole country" at entrances to
the popular Ibirapuera park. Troops also visited homes in
downtown Brasilia.

The so-called National Day for "Zero Zika" is focused on
raising awareness about the disease, Rousseff said. Other
operations specifically aimed at spreading larvicides and
eliminating breeding spots will be launched later this month.

More than 70,000 troops were deployed in Rio de Janeiro, a
priority because of the Olympics, Rousseff said, adding that
sports authorities have said the Zika outbreak did not
jeopardize the event.

Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether the virus
actually causes microcephaly.

Brazil is investigating the potential link between Zika
infections and more than 4,300 suspected cases of microcephaly,
a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can result
in developmental problems.

Researchers have confirmed more than 460 of these cases as
microcephaly and identified evidence of Zika infection in 41 of
these cases, but have not proven that Zika can cause
microcephaly.

The Zika outbreak is affecting large parts of Latin America
and the Caribbean and is likely to spread to all countries in
the Americas except for Canada and Chile, the World Health
Organization has said.
(Editing by Helen Popper)